POTTER'S HOUSE CHRISTIAN CENTER IN CAPE GIRARDEAU: THE WORLD IS IN NEED OF A HEALING

The Rev. Halverson came to Cape Girardeau in August of 1988. Previously, he pastored churches in Belleville, Ill., and ministered in music and youth outreach in the Potter's House in Prescott, Ariz. The Rev. Halverson is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin.

We live in an ailing generation. You don't have to look hard to find chinks in the New Ager's world optimism. The world is obviously not what God intended it to be. Well, didn't God create the devil? Yes, He did. But, when He did, He created the most beautiful being ever imaginable to lead the choir of praise in heaven. The question is not did God create the devil; the question is how did the devil get in the shape he is in. Sin! And sin has done the same thing to man; man is not what God created him to be. Through sin man has lost the ability to influence the world. Instead of a blessing as Adam was intended to be, he became a curse. Genesis 3:17 says the ground is cursed because of man's sin. Romans 8:22 says that creation groans under the weight of this curse. I would suggest to you that the cause of cataclysmic upheavals in the world today volcanoes, earthquakes, cyclones, famines are connected to the failure in man's moral conduct or sin. 2 Samuel 21:1, Leviticus 26:1-9 and 18:25

A brief glance at the newspaper shows the evidence of sin's destructions. The world is in tremendous unrest and upheaval today; it is a blood bath of murder from war and untold thousands of abortions. The blood of unborn babies cries unto God from the ground Genesis 4:10. The world is near panic with diseases like AIDS and cholera. Communism is shaken, but leaving millions starving in its wake Ethiopia, Sudan, Bangladesh. Morality, virtue and integrity are on the decline and disappearing. When was the last time you trusted a national political figure? The world and this generation is in need of a healing.

The call of the church is to bring healing to a hurting world. Evolution, the idea that species adapt and change to best suit their environment, has burdened humanity. Many would like to apply this theory to the church; in order for it to survive in the 20th century, it must change to suit the present environment. To be relevant, the church needs high powered audio-visual presentations, the finest facilities and professional quality programs from day-care to aerobics. Isn't it interesting that sin hasn't changed a bit to accommodate its environment. It's followed man into the 20th century unchanged. The sins of Sodom are with us today. As it was in the days of Noah, so it is in the day we live. Matthew 24:37

The healing and the message that the church is to bring hasn't changed either. The answer for a hurting generation is Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The answer for a hurting word is repentance and turning unto God. His love and forgiveness are the answer to the wounding of sin and the balm of healing for those caught in its destruction. "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23